Im looking at reclassing soon and have a wide variety of choices. Some of which are aviation MOS'. Ive always liked the idea of being a blackhawk crew member. gunner or chief...doesnt matter, and I know they pick the flight crew from the mechanic's, right? I would just hate to reclass to 15T and get stuck being just a mechanic.Also, 15P and 15Q are open and I hear good things about them. Basic info though. If anyone has some helpful advice, any would be appriciated.

I wanted to be a 15T and fly but all that was available when I joined was 15R (apache crew chief) or 15G (my MOS) aircraft structural repair. which is a great MOS! I'm in a blackhawk battalion now, and work with 15T's on a daily basis. The T's that go to flight companys are the ones who are first and foremost competent mechanics and have proven themselves, it is hard to get to a flight company but easy to get sent back to the maintence companys for APFT failures, DUI's ect... Prove yourself as a mechanic and you'll fly. Good luck man!

No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country. George S. Patton

I wish you the best. I'm very envious of you right now. If I could go back into time I'd join aviation. I like how the skills and rank go hand in hand just like Navy Ratings. When you look at a SGT Blackhawk Mechanic you know you are looking at knowledge that is exceeding the SPC Blackhawk Mechanic.

most of m career has been in apache units. if you go 15p, prepare for long hours. you could end up working nights or flight ops, or in the S3, which is the meat and potatoes of an aviation headquarters element.

Well I'm a 15P and have been for 11 years now and like any other job it has it's pros and cons. I've been stationed in Honduras, Egypt, Hunter AAF, Fort Hood, Fort Rucker, and currently Germany. And those are just the duty stations not mentioning the places that I've been. You talk to a 15Q they will tell they are better, talk to a 15P and they will say they are better but in the long run 15Q become 15P at MSG. The Army has been in talks the last year or two about the possibility of combining the MOS altogether. I've worked the night shift, flight ops, and S3 at BN and BDE levels. I've also been a door gunner. I've enjoyed being a 15P. Hope this helps.

I am a 15Q. Have been so for the last 6 years. Most of our leadership is reclass from combat arms. Here is some basic info. As an ATC you would go to Ft Rucker, AL for AIT. Following that you would get an assignment. ATC is broken up into 3 worlds. Fixed-base, Tactical, and Support personnel. You can work as a controller in a fixed base facility (real Tower or Ground Controlled Approach facility). You can work with the tactical equivlents of these facilities. And you can work in a flight unit or headquarters element A2C2 cell just as a 15P does. Pros of being ATC is getting trained to do a job the FAA is willing to hire you to do depending on your age. We get SDAP, for trainees and A2C2 personnel it is SD-level 3, for controllers certified to work without supervision it is SD-level 4. Cons are shift work, deployments are excessive since we are a small MOS. Locations for ATC is limited and getting more limited everyday as the Army transitions to the new force structure. Promotion points are high so you need civilian ed and to max military ed to get picked up. However, once you do that promotion is easy.

Now, some will say 15P and 15Q are better than one another. I say judge for yourself, as a 15Q retention NCO I have never had a 15Q reclass to 15P. In AIT that put you in 15P if you fail the 15Q course. I have had 3 former 15P reclass to 15Q. It is true that 15P and 15Q join into one MOS at E-8, 15P but it is easier for a 15Q E-7 to make that rank than it is a 15P, look at the trend reports on the promotion point website. They speak for themselves.

Now if you have a short attention span and hate studying and taking exams this may not be the MOS for you. As a controller you must be certified in each facility you enter whether you are placed into it by your unit tranfering you or by PCS move. You start from scrath, training wise at every location.

Well, hopefully this helps you in your decission, if you need more info just holla back. I can answer your questions regarding 15Q.

Allright before I get on this diatribe, just look at the freaking pre-qulas for each MOS. Just a hunch here, more exclusive means BETTER usually. Considering 15Q needs a flight phys and 15P does not, who do you think will stand a better chance of flying. I am a OIF and OEF veteran and I have NEVER, I REPEAT, FREAKEN NEVER had a 15P be a door gunner or flight engineer on my bird or heard of it. I am willing to humble myself and believe I can be wrong. The CLOSEST I can fathom would be a flight engineer personally knowing a 15P and letting them sit in the door gunner position for a mission and take pictures. I am not willing to believe this one w/o any proof. I don't like doing this, but I am the A$$HOLE on this one.